Microsoft Apologizes For Loudmouthed Creative Director’s Tweets

Earlier this week, a Microsoft Studios creative director stepped into a huge, flaming virtual bag full of doo-doo when he decided to make his case for always-online gaming, and possibly gave away information about the next generation of Xbox in the process. Today, Microsoft has had to issue a “don’t listen to that guy” statement.

For those coming into this late, it was reported yesterday that the next Xbox will require users to always be connected to the Internet if they want to use the console, not just in instances where the user is actively accessing online content. No one knows if this is true, as Microsoft hasn’t released any details about the next Xbox, but the mere idea has ticked off a lot of consumers who see it as an unnecessary and invasive requirement.

One person who wasn’t annoyed by the always-online requirement was Microsoft Studios creative director Adam Orth, who took to Twitter to say, “I don’t get the drama around having an ‘always on’ console. Every device now is ‘always on’. That’s the world we live in. #dealwithit”

He only made matters worse by making flimsy analogies equating Internet access — which is still not a mandatory part of life, in spite of all the connected tech being released every day — with an essential like electricity.

All in all, it wasn’t a banner day for Orth or Microsoft. He became a recipient of not-so-friendly feedback from the Internet that he so dearly wants to be connected to at all times, and Microsoft has had to release an apology to distance itself from its employee’s Tweets:

“We apologize for the inappropriate comments made by an employee on Twitter yesterday. This person is not a spokesperson for Microsoft, and his personal views do not reflect the customer centric approach we take to our products or how we would communicate directly with our loyal consumers. We are very sorry if this offended anyone, however we have not made any announcements about our product roadmap, and have no further comment on this matter.”